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One of the welcome changes that Art Asylum/DST has made recently is the decision to revert back to window box packaging on their Marvel Minimate releases, as we saw with some of the earliest Marvel Minimates. I feel that this is a major improvement over the closed boxes used for the bulk of Marvel releases for 2 major reasons:

1) Minimates almost always look better in person than they do in pictures, and for the casual fan walking through a comic shop, seeing these great figures through their clear plastic cages may provide the extra push that someone might need to bite the bullet and buy. As such, I think that this can only help to move sets.

2) “Mint In Box” collectors can, I’m sure, appreciate packaging where they can see the figure that they aren’t willing or able to open the package up to get. So, there is an extra incentive to buy for these types of collectors as well (disclosure: I am not generally a MIB collector, so this is all based on speculation and discussions that I have read elsewhere).

Now, as for the specific packaging here, this box, appropriately, is covered with bullet holes. The characters are all poking out of giant bullet holes on the front (sorry I don’t have pics of the figures in the box, as I threw the plastic holster out a while back) [I’m sure if anyone is interested, they know they can check out the in-box pictures at the fantastic resource of Minimate Database – Ed]. The logos are nice and bold on both the front and back, and both of these sides has a photo of Ray Stevenson as Punisher in black and white, brooding in the background. The back also has a nice posed group shot and mini-bios for each figure. Each side of the box has the disembodied head of each figure poking out from behind more bullet holes. The box suits the set quite well, because of the bullet hole theme.

For anyone who has seen the movie, you may note that Mob Thug bears a striking resemblance to Jigsaw’s brother, Looney Bin Jim. I don’t know why he is called Mob Thug on the packaging (and is described thusly in his mini-biography) – whether it is a licensing issue, a marketing decision (targeting army builders?), or something else – but, there really is no doubt that this is Jim.

The shape of the mouth and lips, the spacing of the eyes, and the slightly arched eyebrows actually make for a good likeness of Doug Hutchison, the actor portraying Jim in the film. The facial expression is ambiguous – he could be angry, shocked, confused, crazy, etc. I think of this as a plus, as you can project your own idea of what he is thinking onto your figure. He has a broken nose with tape over it and a scuff on his cheek, accurately reflecting his self-mutilated, beat-up look in much of the movie. Regarding the hat, it is a kind of sock hat and it works fine, though it does have the look of a limp pancake thrown onto his head.

As for the outfit, Looney Bin is fairly bare-bones. He has a brown jacket, black pants, brown shoes, kind of purplish shirt, nothing really spectacular, but it does the job. A flashy outfit wouldn’t fit what he wore in the movie. This outfit is also great for civilians if you are planning on doing a diorama of some kind. Not sure if the jacket is a new sculpt or not, but I don’t recall seeing it before. Clean paint job throughout on my figure, no slop, tampo seems on straight, all that good stuff.

I’m not 100% sure which accessories go with which figures here, as apart from the Punisher’s accessories, there are just a couple of simple handguns (I believe there were 2 extras for the 3 non-Punisher figures to fight over). You could give one of these to Jim, though in the movie he seemed to prefer a more personal approach, using his hands and handheld weapons like an axe.

In Conclusion: This is a nice Minimate, but nothing spectacular. If you like civilians, generic thugs, this actor, or his character in the movie, then you probably won’t be disappointed. However, if you prefer characters that are a little flashier and more distinctive, then he may end up in a box rather than on your shelf. Though there aren’t any major flaws, there isn’t much to distinguish him, apart from the likeness.

MMC Score – 6 out of 10

Next we have Frank Castle. With his furrowed brow and slightly frowny, closed mouth, he looks a bit serious or angry, fitting the character. Or possibly, he is just really focused – you choose! The angle of the stubble is a little strange to me, and I can’t help but think that he would look better without it. Honestly, I don’t see much of Ray Stevenson here. Could just be the nature of the actor (he may be difficult to capture in Minimate form without a nose, etc.), could be a licensing issue of some kind, but whatever the reason, I don’t see it. Still makes for a nice civilian though, and a nice Frank Castle head that can be switched out with Assault Armor Punisher’s head, if you want to spice things up a bit. The hairpiece fits the character nicely, and accurately captures the slicked back hair that Stevenson had in the film.

My first impression was that Frank’s outfit has a 1970s-era vibe, as if he were pulled out of some old cop movie, where he could either be the criminal or a detective in casual, period-appropriate attire (I’m sure that cops never actually dressed like that in the 70s, but. . .). Apart from that, he is wearing a blue sweater, covered by a black coat, with gray pants and black shoes. Nothing fancy, but fitting of the serious, no-frills Castle.

Accessory-wise, again, there is possibly the one handgun. One of these guns probably was meant for Castle since: 1) he is Punisher in civilian guise, and thus always has a gun; and 2) there is a scene in the film involving civilian Castle, the wife of a slain undercover cop, and a handgun. So, this could be that handgun.

In Conclusion: Not a bad Minimate, but similar to Mob Thug he is kind of boring. Nice for those who want an extra civilian, and the extra head is useful to switch out if you want a less angry, more serious Punisher, but this is another figure that could easily spend the rest of his existence in a box in my closet.

Review and pictures by karamazov80

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